Twenty-five years ago this week, the Ionia Sentinel-Standard announced that two Ionians passed the Michigan State Bar examination, required for admission to the practice of law.

The two were Robert S. Sykes Jr., son of Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Sykes of East Main Street, and Raymond Voet, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Voet of Jefferson Street.

Today they are the Hon. Robert Sykes, judge in Ionia County Probate Court, and the Hon. Raymond Voet, chief judge of Ionia County 64-A District Court.

Both graduated from Ionia High School, Class of 1980 (and both married graduates of Saginaw Eisenhower High School, oddly enough). But their connection to the community and to each other goes back long before high school. Sykes and Voet went to kindergarten together, and played baseball on the sandlots of Jefferson School, Voet said.

"I never would have predicted that both of us would be sitting here as judges in our hometown," said Voet.

"If someone 30 years ago had said, 'I'll bet you in 25 years you will be two county judges,' I would have taken it – there was no way," Sykes said. "But we both worked hard, and have a sense of pride in the profession and the community. We want to make it a better place to live."

Both men recall vividly the day they received their bar results. It was Nov. 13. Voet said he had heard that Sykes had received his.

"I just came out of court, and the mailman had not showed up yet, so I drove around to find him," he said. "I was petrified. I couldn't open the envelope. I had put so much blood, sweat and tears into the exam." He passed.

Earlier, Sykes had received a call from his mother when he was at work, telling him the envelope had arrived.

"I remember walking back to my parents' home on Main Street, realizing my fate had already been determined, but still with great anxiety," he said. He went to the living room to be alone when he opened the results. He passed.

"There was absolute relief," Sykes said. "No one wants to take the bar exam twice, especially in a small community when so many people knew I had taken the bar."

Sykes was sworn in first on Nov. 19, 1987, in the circuit court room. The Sentinel-Standard the next day reported that nearly all Ionia attorneys attended, as well as the partners of Sykes law firm, judges, and the prosecuting attorney, Gary Gabry. Judge Charles W. Simon Jr. presided.

That night, plaster from the ceiling of the court room fell in large chunks.

When Voet was sworn in on Dec. 2, 1987, his ceremony took place on the landing between the first and second floors of the courthouse steps. The court room was still unsafe to use. Ionia attorneys lined the stair steps between the landing and the second floor to flank the ceremony, the newspaper reported. Judge Simon presided. Gabry made the motion for Voet's admission.

Page 2 of 5 - JUDGE VOET

Voet was between jobs when he returned to Ionia. Although he was not born here, it is the only hometown he had ever known. He wanted to do great things, working in New York or Chicago, he said.

"I had just taken the bar, and I happened to be clerking for a local attorney, when a woman who knew my dad told me about an opening in the prosecutor's office for an assistant prosecutor," he said. "The rest is history."

Voet was hired by Gabry and worked as an assistant prosecutor for five years. He then was elected as county prosecutor, a job in which he spent seven years.

"I learned a lot from Gary. He was one of the few lawyers I think of as influencing the way I do business," he said. "Judge Simon taught me how law is practiced properly."

Law is a competitive field, where people can make a lot of money but not necessarily feel good about themselves or like their jobs, Voet said.

"I wanted to make an honest living, support myself and my family, and do good things, and I went into law looking for that," he said. "I found it by being a lawyer."

Voet became Ionia County Chief District Court Judge in 1999, after a total of 12 years in the prosecutor's office. He notes he has only held two jobs in his career: prosecutor and judge, and both in Ionia County.

In the 25 years since Voet passed the bar, there were large cases, like the Kevorkian trial, "a tragedy that brought a circus to Ionia," he said. "I still have conflicted feelings, and I would hate to have 25 years judged by that case."

But he recalls other cases – like that of a young woman who was murdered.

"Her family was very upset by that, and it was a very emotional time. I dare say I invested myself into that case personally," he said. "There are plenty of cases, nameless and faceless to the public, but these are the cases I remember."

Voet compared his career to chapters in novels by Michigan attorney, judge and writer John Voelker, whose pen name is Robert Traver. "Each chapter is a different case he had as a prosecutor," Voet said. "That's how I view my professional life – small, colorful chapters."

His goal now is to stay "cutting edge. I don't want to become complacent, the judge that the lawyers privately are saying 'It's time for him to go. The practice of law has passed him by,'" Voet said. "I want to stay ahead of the time, known as being a leader, a public servant, and remembered for working for Ionia County with steady service, day to day."

Page 3 of 5 - Technology has changed the practice of law and law enforcement greatly, he said, from breath tests that have eliminated human error to cameras in police cars, from search warrants done by fax to DNA evidence.

"There are also the things technology has brought to us – computer crimes, email evidence, stalking, text messages," he said.

Societal attitudes toward crime and toward punishment have changed as well and revolutionized the past 25 years, Voet added.

"Drunk driving was not a big deal, domestic violence was a private matter," he said. "It was not unusual for a repeat offender to go to prison. Now, with drunk driving and domestic violence, they are expected to get treatment, and hopefully not come back."

Voet said he is proud of bringing specialty courts to the county, like sobriety court and veterans court.

JUDGE SYKES

Sykes was hired as an associate with O'Connor, McNamara and O'Keefe (which two years later became later McNamara, O'Keefe and Sykes) and worked in private practice until his election to the Probate Court bench in 2004.

"I built a practice and became a partner, but my career goal always was to become a trial court judge," Sykes said. "I viewed that as the next step in my career. Being a judge is being an advocate – it is the person making the most difficult decisions affecting people's lives, and I felt that it was a job I could handle, and I work hard at doing it."

Sykes said he was "always partial" to probate court; working with families and children was always an interest of his. When he was in high school and college, he worked with kids in the recreation department over the summer.

"I felt probate was where I could do the most good and work with children and families in need, and make their lives better," he said. "I plan to stay until I retire. I truly love my job. There has not been a day in the almost eight years I have served as probate judge that I have dreaded going to work. It's a good fit, I enjoy it, I work with good people, and I can do some good for people in that position."

One of the most memorable cases Sykes was involved in in private practice was in 2004, when he was hired to represent Craig Stadler, a professional golfer who had been arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol in Ionia County, he said. That case was heard by Judge Voet, who "treated him as any other defendant, no special treatment."

"It was interesting because of the media exposure – he was a celebrity," Sykes said.

As a judge, Sykes recalls a proceeding where two sisters were removed from their mother's custody as she struggled with emotional issues, and there were concerns about the father's ability to care for the girls.

Page 4 of 5 - "As the case progressed, it became clear to me that everyone was asking to terminate parental rights," he said. "I just never felt terminating the man's parental rights were in the best interest of the children, and I stuck to what I believed in the face of great opposition. A few months ago, we terminated the case from court jurisdiction. The two sisters are with their father, the mother's rights are intact, they have a relationship with both parents. That's the way the system should work."

Another highlight was last year's adoption day, when Sykes had "the absolute thrill to preside with the chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court over adoption proceedings.

"Adoptions are special because of the permanence I am giving to a child, and changing the course of that life forever," he said. "It was joyous – to the children, the adopting parents and other family members. I was invited to take my show on the road with three Ionia County families adopting their foster children. It was a great experience."

Among the things that have changed over 25 years is the increase in the number of lawyers.

"With the number of attorneys in practice now, it's not so much a profession as a business," he said. "To me, that is unfortunate. Fortunately, Ionia County is blessed with a lot of good attorneys."

Other changes include the increase of technology, and the ability to do research online rather than in law books.

"This has transformed how legal research is done, how cases are reported," he added. If you don't keep on top of changes, you are not going to be effective as a lawyer or a judge."

The increase in methamphetamine in Ionia County is a "huge problem for our county, and has wreaked much havoc on families," he said. "It's highly addictive and difficult to overcome, which causes all kinds of problems for families. There seems to be a great emphasis on rehabilitation as opposed to punishment, certainly with juvenile court."

Like Voet, Sykes praised the increase in specialty courts. He is especially proud of teen court, over which he presides.

"When someone comes to court and has an alcohol or drug problem, the court system now realizes that, rather than locking them up and thinking that is going to change them, the court has to help them address the problem by offering treatment," he said. "If they are not willing to embrace the services, then there will be punishment, but it has become the last resort, rather than the first resort."

Sykes sums up his and Voet's story, starting 25 years ago.

"We were hometown boys who chose to stay home," Sykes said. "Some of our friends couldn't wait to get out of Ionia. We came home to build careers here, to raise families. It's been a great experience. I look forward to the next 25 years."